American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations.
Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations Phase III project files: ground-based astronomy, materials science, heavy-ion and nuclear physics, medical physics, and computer-mediated collaborations, 1992-1998.
These administrative records cover the third phase and last phase of the study which addressed the fields of ground-based astronomy, materials science, heavy-ion and nuclear physics, medical physics, and computer-mediated collaborations. Twenty-one collaborations were selected to serve as case studies and an additional three were selected for the computer-mediated category. A conscious effort was made to look toward the future which, for the most part, meant that the case studies may not have published research findings. This effort also inspired the inclusion of the computer-mediated category of collaborations in which new techniques of computer science and the technology provide a core aspect of the research; these new strategies offer glimpses into the design of future scientific collaborations. Altogether 78 interviews with scientists who could serve as "informants" were conducted; interview transcripts were anallyzed for historical and archival information. The work of sociologists was integrated into the historical and archival efforts; in particular, the sociological team analyzed all project interviews and produced a typology for multi-institutional collaborations. Finally, the project staff conducted numerous site visits to Federal science agencies and the National Archives and Records Administration to discuss archival issues and records policies. Project staff: Joan Warnow-Blewett, project director; Spencer Weart, associate project director; Joel Genuth, project historian; Anthony Capitos, project archivist; Ivan Chompalov, project sociologist; and Wesley Shrum, consulting sociologist.
A documentation research project to study the complex issues facing the historical documentation of multi-institutional collaborations in physics and allied sciences. The project aimed to identify patterns of collaboration, records creation, and use; define the documentation problems; field test possible solutions to these problems; and recommend future actions to secure adequate documentation and facilitate future study. Phase I focused on collaborative research in high-energy physics (completed 1992), Phase II addressed collaborative research in space science and geophysics (completed 1995), and Phase III focused on four disciplinary areas of ground-based astronomy, materials science, heavy-ion physics, and medical physics, and a category named computer-mediated collaborations. A final report focuses on comparisons of the various fields studied as well as broad questions of documentation policy and practice.
Accelerators.
Astronomical observatories.
Astronomy -- Documentation.
Group work in research.
Materials science -- Documentation.
Medical physics -- Documentation.
Nuclear physics -- Documentation.
Physics -- Archival resources.
Sociology -- Research.
Sociology -- Statistical methods.
Telescopes.
American Institute of Physics. Center for History of Physics. Study of Multi-Institutional Collaborations.
Genuth, Joel, historian.
Shrum, Wesley, 1953- consulting sociologist.
Warnow-Blewett, Joan. 1931- project director.
Weart, Spencer R., 1942- associate director.
American Institute of Physics) Center for History of Physics
Capitos, Anthony, archivist.
Chompalov, Ivan. project sociologist.
AIP-ICOS
American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA